Triglyceride Levels in Sons of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

In this issue, the report by Uiterwaal and colleagues [1] indicates that healthy young sons of fathers with established coronary artery disease have a greater postprandial triglyceride response than do sons of fathers without this disease. This finding appears to be the result of a carefully conducted study, and although the difference in responses between the two groups is not great, it is statistically significant. Two alternative explanations could account for the difference in response in the two types of offspring: The difference could be either acquired or genetic. Both possibilities must be considered.

An acquired difference might be one of two kinds. First, sons may have acquired habits from their fathers before their fathers developed coronary artery disease. For example, they might have acquired their fathers' eating and exercise habits or attitudes toward work and stress. Although no definite evidence was obtained about these acquired habits, they could be subtle and difficult to detect without more extensive testing. If present, they could have affected the postprandial triglyceride response.

A second possibility is that sons were psychologically affected by their fathers' …